About The Novel

Raves & Praise

"Beautifully detailed and rich in exceptional characterization ... Curran's novel gently reminds readers that fantasy has a place in everyone's life, and dreams can come true. Uniquely uplifting and never didactic, this is a gem." -BOOKLIST, starred review

"With a masterful wit and clever twists, Sheila Curran has created an intricately woven mystery. Captivating, fast-paced, no-holds-barred storytelling, DIANA LIVELY IS FALLING DOWN defies pigeon-holing. Wrestling the complexities of motherhood, loss and betrayal, politics, the environment, and theme parks, it is at once intimate, domestic, and worldly. A debut to celebrate!" -Julianna Baggott, GIRLTALK, THE MISS AMERICA FAMILY, THE MADAM

"Brilliant, touching, and funny as hell, Diana Lively packs a powerful punch. A poignant and biting satire of contemporary family life, American business, ivory-tower academics, and trans-Atlantic cultural differences, this spirited romp through an Englishwoman's Arizona deserves a unique place of honor on any bookshelf. Diana is one of those stories that can linger forever in one's own memory and imagination, as a reference point for every new book that comes along, or even more, for life itself. Wry, engaging, and wise beyond words, Diana is bound to delight and amaze." -Carlos Eire, 2003 National Book Award winner, WAITING FOR SNOW IN HAVANA

"DIANA LIVELY IS FALLING DOWN is a terrific pick-me-up. You couldn't find two more disparate landscapes than Oxford, England and Arizona, and that's exactly what one British woman discovers when she crosses the pond to find herself a fish-out-of-water -- only to realize that for the first time in her life, this means she can stand on her own two feet. Filled with characters who make you laugh out loud even as they break your heart, this is a funny, warm, inventive, original book."
-Jodi Picoult, NYT bestselling author of VANISHING ACTS and MY SISTER'S KEEPER

Similarly, in novels, it’s the oddball I enjoy. Think Flannery O’Connor’s wannabe Messiah in Wise Blood or Ignatius O’Reilly in Confederacy of Dunces. I’m safely distanced enough to enjoy the ride, despite the fact that, in real life, I’d never in a million years stop along the side of the road to offer either of these unwashed protagonists a lift.

They’re crazy but harmless. Not Hannibal Lecter or Norman Bates’ kind of crazy. Those madmen drive a whole different genre, the crime novels I haven’t allowed myself to read for decades. Scary-crazy is too much like the headlines, it’s too much like the worst nightmare that we understand can happen to anyone. This is a recognition that most of us might face, but only in bits and pieces before tucking it away and whistling in the dark.

The older I get, the more I seek diversion, not doom, in my entertainment. And I try to write what I wish to read.

My first novel, Diana Lively is Falling Down, is packed with quirky characters, only one of whom is evil. The rest, from the lovely Diana, whose fear of insects mirrors my own, to Wally, a widower certain his dead wife is sending him “signs,” has something she or he does which distinguishes them from the completely stable unimaginative mass of humans we call “normal.” Humphrey, a strapping seventeen year old is an unlikely domestic diva, nurturing his mother through a bad marriage. Eleanor, his half-sister, is four years old and a talented kleptomaniac. Her mischief will eventually cause her all-too-arrogant father to rue his haste in dismissing the intelligence of his wife and children. Audrey, Humphrey’s love interest, is Wally the widower’s blond-haired blue-eyed adopted daughter, out to save the planet on behalf of the Native Americans she’s convinced were her birth parents. It’s a bit of a lunatic asylum, when you take the ensemble apart, but such is the stuff of comedy. It is also the stuff of real life.

No one goes to her grave without having had a time in which she’s seemed to others -- well, let’s just say – just a bit off. It might be the confusing roller coaster of falling in love, be it with your soul mate or your newborn child. It might be the madness of grief, with its necessary delusions: denial, bargaining, all those “unreasonable” behaviors.

“These are the times that try men’s souls,” is not limited to epic battles or intercontinental pestilence and plague. We will, each of us, find ourselves tested, and this is the “stuff” of drama. We might be perfectly sane until we’re derailed by enormous sadness or exhilarating affection. All stories focus on a time in characters’ lives when they’re drawn out of their stable existence and driven to the edge. To their wit’s end. Their last nerve. Their crazy.

In comedy, we have the pleasure of watching our protagonist adapt and learn and grow and heal. In tragedy, well, not so much. Too little, too late, or with the opposite effect he or she was seeking. For eons now, the happy ending has been deplored by so-called ‘serious’ writers and reviewers. Aristotle branded the comedic characters as less noble, less virtuous. Shakespeare turned everything on its head, combining the two forms to great effect. Even so, in his own day, the bard was considered vulgar, a playwright who pandered to the masses. Jane Austen was dismissed as frivolous and Trollope was thought too concerned with drawing rooms and manners. Oscar Wilde, too, caught his own share of “shite” for being too playful, too much fun, to be taken seriously.

I can’t help but notice the similarity between these elevated critiques from centuries past and current literary trends, when women’s fiction is derided for the inevitable happy ending, for the comfort readers take in the cushy world of fanciful shoes and pretty wallpapers.

I would argue that women – far from being the naïve idiots these critiques imply – are all too familiar with death and decay, with poverty and loss. Whether its nursing our failing parents, a frighteningly sick child, or suffering the blindsiding loss of a sibling or good friend, we’ve weathered the front lines of our emotional Waterloos, thank you very much. We’re well aware that the nightmare scenarios will – like taxes – inevitably arrive at our doorstep. Until then, or after the fact, we prefer to escape to a place in which the world is filled with laughter and forgiveness and, yes, even fashion. Crazy? Perhaps. Delusional? Absolutely. Otherwise known as suspension of disbelief, a.k.a. willingly entering what John Gardener calls “the fictional dream.” The point is, we’ll take what “she’s having,” in that famous line of Norah Ephron’s. To choose pleasure over pain, diversion over doom, it’s the opposite of naïve. We know what’s serious. Serious is a heart attack, it’s cancer. Perhaps those of us who write about other things do so not from ignorance about such matters but from a profound knowledge we keep tucked inside. Let us amble down the garden path and whistle when its dark; all around us there are others who will hear and take heart. They might even laugh, a sound which can, to the untutored, sound a lot like crying turned inside out. A lot like crazy, just not the kind that kills you for the sheer mastery of it.

Every Christmas I buy books as presents but this past December, as I thought about what to buy, I was stymied by the fact that half my family had Kindles and the other half were probably getting them under the tree. Suddenly the books I was so happy to personalize to each sister and brother's taste seemed gratuitious, heavy to pack and possibly outmoded. Multiply this times a zillion and you get the digital revolution, which has pretty much put all of us on PAUSE until we figure out what's going to happen.

One of my Girlfriends in the GCC, Jenny Gardiner, has made a move. Here's her explanation of why she's chosen to cut out the middle man (otherwise known as the publisher) and market her books directly through her literary agency. Now the rub is that I don't HAVE A KINDLE. For those of you that do, this book looks so yummy! And has a great premise.

In SLIM TO NONE, Abbie Jennings is Manhattan's top food critic until her expanding waistline makes staying incognito at restaurants impossible. Her cover blown on Page Six of the New York Post, her editor has no choice but to bench her—and suggest she use the time off to bench-press her way back to anonymity. Abbie’s life has been built around her career, and therefore around celebrating food. Forced to drop the pounds if she wants her primo gig back, Abbie must peel back the layers of her past and confront the fears that have led to her current life.

Here is Jenny's explanation of why she'd made this decision.

Shortly after I received my Kindle e-reader for my birthday a few months ago, I was reading in bed at midnight, not loving the book I had downloaded, but wanting to continue to read something. So with the magic of my electronic reader, in two minutes' time, I found another book on Amazon, downloaded the thing, and had begun reading it. How cool is that?

Dramatic changes have been underway in the publishing industry in recent years—changes that--combined with a faltering economy--have left traditional publishing in a bit of a tailspin. While the cumbersome infrastructure of the publishing industry is perhaps not quite nimble enough to as easily embrace and adapt to these changes, authors are on their own figuring out how they can achieve their end goal--to reach readers hungry for their work.

I've been fortunate to be teamed up with a literary agent—the wonderful Holly Root—whose agency (The Waxman Agency) is an innovator and has undertaken a bold new program of offering up high-quality books to the reading public via a digital imprint called Diversion Books.

I jumped at the chance to be part of this program because in many ways I am a convert to e-reading and I believe that society is on the cusp of a major shift in how people read books. I've always felt badly that there is a tremendous amount of paper waste with books—that books that don't sell get sent back to the publishers and ultimately destroyed. And as one who has on many occasions found at least three books lurking in the bowels of her purse (which gets heavy!), I love having all of my reading neatly compiled into one small, lightweight and very portable device. And strangely I find I can focus more readily when reading in a public place with an e-reader. Go figure.

I think that as competition increases with the introduction of new e-readers, and prices come down in the near future, soon electronic readers like the Kindle, the Nook, the Sony Reader and the iPad (of which 1 million units were sold in 28 days) will become as commonplace as cell phones (with smart phones already an e-reading option for many).

Are e-books the perfect solution? Not at all. I hate the idea that e-books contribute to marginalizing wonderful independent book stores, and hope that somehow some of the talk—of e-book downloads being available at stores, perhaps, will help to mitigate that. And I hate to sit back and watch layoffs and consolidation in the publishing industry, as really good people, fabulous editors, publicists and artists are squeezed out as the business changes. The music industry experienced these same sea changes and frankly nothing about it is easy. But as the mainstream industry goes more and more toward sure-bet books to the exclusion of the vast mid-list, which is really like the middle class of the writing world, more authors will by necessity seek alternatives to continue to pursue their passion and to reach their readers.

I decided to publish digitally with Diversion Books rather than cold turkey on my own because, alas, I am such a Luddite. Well, not fully. But I am technologically stunted and I don't have the time in my life right now to figure out how to do this on my own, and I am happy to be able to work with such wonderful professionals to collaborate on an end-result we can all be proud of. It's early enough that I can't tell you how the outcome will be, but so far so good and I really just hope I can get the word out to enough e-readers about the book—I do find that those who are early adapters with e-readers are enthusiastic to buy books, which is a good thing for everyone in a market in which so few books are being purchased. And I hope that my readers will be able to access this book.

Of course tangible paper books aren't going to go away, but the convenience of downloading books and carrying literally hundreds of them in such compact form is awfully hard to beat. And I'm thrilled to be at the forefront of such exciting innovations and to be able to offer up a book that I absolutely love and think that you will too.

Many of you may know me as a novelist who was able to successfully market my way into a publishing contract with my first novel, SLEEPING WITH WARD CLEAVER, which was the winner of Dorchester Publishing's American Title III contest a few years ago. Back then I sort of stumbled into the frontier of capitalizing on what would soon become the most comprehensive way to market and publicize books—via networking on the internet.

Since that time, the industry has shifted in none-too-subtle ways as the internet has become an integral part of the publishing picture. So much so that e-publishing, which used to be considered an unconventional means of publication, is clearly being viewed now as the wave of the future.The future is already upon us, and I hope that you will join me in this brave new "frontier" and check out my debut e-novel, SLIM TO NONE, in which Abby Jennings, Manhattan's premier food critic, is outed on Page Six of the New York Post, and to her chagrin she realizes she's too recognizably fat to now remain incognito in her job. Her editor gives her six months to shape up or ship out, and so this ultimate foodie--a woman who is paid to eat for a living--must vastly curtail her eating in order to continue being able to make a living.

SLIM TO NONE is a story near and dear to my heart. Like probably every female out there with a heartbeat and a stomach pooch, I have been on the dieting treadmill since I was oh, born. Well, wait, I guess after I started walking. It was then that I knew I needed to stop cramming down the Froot Loops my mother kept insisting was the only thing I would eat, and instead turn to steel-cut oats direct from Ireland for the best proper nutrition.

Alas, Froot Loops won the day, over and over again. In what seems like an omnipresent dietary smackdown between Brussels sprouts and Fluffernutter sandwiches, the latter prevails every time. And with that has been the roller coaster of dieting and hating to diet and then never having pants that fit and a closet full of awesome clothes collecting dust that I really ought to just purge and give to someone thinner and more deserving, but instead I hold out mournful hope that I again will jam my fat ass into a size 6 pair of Gloria Vanderbilt jeans (yes, friends, it has been that long).

With that albatross secured snugly around my neck, I decided to tackle the ups and downs of this way of life in a novel—and decided upon a foodie for whom food had to become the enemy. I loved the idea of taking someone who has to eat for a living then not be able to eat in order to continue to be able to eat for a living. Such a quandary! And then of course I wanted to pile her up with all sorts of issues that she has to overcome.

I hope you'll join Abbie on her journey of self-discovery and while you're at it enjoy many of the yummy recipes you'll find within the pages of SLIM TO NONE.

Jenny Gardiner is also the author of the recently released WINGING IT: A MEMOIR OF CARING FOR A VENGEFUL PARROT WHO'S DETERMINED TO KILL ME (Simon & Schuster's Gallery books), and the award-winning SLEEPING WITH WARD CLEAVER (Dorchester books).

A year ago today I was begging my doctors to quit radiating my throat. I kept saying, "I'm cooked! I'm done! You're giving me the same radiation as you would a 300 pound truck driver. Can't we stop? Please. Pretty please?

At that point, I was only a few days from the end of treatment, and no, the famous Dr. Mendenhall did not stop but he did give me more pain medicine. (I was wearing a 100 mcg. Fetnenyl patch that would have felled the aforesaid truck driver.) Third degree burns to the inside of your mouth and throat and tongue are not the stuff of MY BRILLIANT CAREER. More like The Hurt Locker. Except I wasn't striding boldly into no man's land. I was curling into a fetal position and telling myself, "Just a few more days and you'll have made it through treatment without having to get a feeding tube." Lofty goals.

Sooo...all this to say that I am GRATEFUL to be well enough today to get on a plane and be able to READ tomorrow to a group of people from a book I wrote before I got sick about a woman who's convinced death is around the corner, despite all evidence to the contrary. A book I wrote in which one of the characters cannot make herself eat, and about whom, everyone else is worried sick. A book called EVERYONE SHE LOVED.

Since my name is Sheila and my family calls me SHE, the ironies reverberate. But on this day, I'm lucky enough to be cured, to have found the cancer in its early stage, to have had a wonderful insurance plan that sent me to one of the top five radiation oncology treatment programs in the country, and to have emerged from that grueling slash-and-burn ceremony with a very small chance of recurrence, reborn taste buds and even working saliva glands. (The things you don't know you'll miss until they're AWOL.)

Please join me. I'll be wearing a scarf made from my father's World War II parachute, and telling myself, a little old reading is surely something to celebrate. Hope to see any Bostonians I know there!

If you can't make it, or even if you can, here's a very homemade video that shows exactly what happens when you're Missing In Action and your dog has to find something to do with herself.

In the new Puritanism, if a book is extremely readable (i.e. accessible) it's also just not good for you in the same way that a more taxing (i.e. boring, difficult, obscure) read would be. I have friends who are determined members of the 'eat your peas' school of literature.

Not me. Not ever.

I truly want to be entertained. We have little enough joy in life and if I can enter someone else's dream with their words and not have a Brechtian interruption every few seconds, that's just wonderful. (Brecht believed that if you were entertained by art, then you couldn't be a revolutionary. That was BAD. Thus, he proposed that art should shake you out of the trance of fantasy that you had signed up for. Art should be be 1) unpleasant and 2) remind you that you were NOT a passive human being seeking escape but rather a very UNHAPPY person whose escape just back-flipped on them. I think he reasoned that if you were left uncomfortable long enough, you'd take to the streets. Kind of like, Entertainment is the Opiate of the People. The problem with that? Well, where do I start? First, well, having fun and thinking about issues aren't mutually exclusive. Real art wakes people up AND entertains them. More compassion was awakened by Dickens' pleasing stories than ever by James Joyce's tres difficil prose detailing God-knows-what-because-I couldn't-bear-one-more-word of Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

Shakespeare was people pleaser. He was also brilliant. Sapphire's book Push, which, I will have you know I put on my favorite books list in 2001 (see my old READERVILLE page if you don't believe me), is both really difficult AND really gripping. You can do both.

Okay. My point is this. Women (and men) needn't beat themselves up for wanting good old fashioned escapist reading. What the hell? Do we really need more reminders of unhappiness than our many electronic tethers that remind us of the catastrophe's ability to ambush ordinary people in ordinary lives? Hello? Earthquakes, I.E.D's, Tsunami's, religious vendettas, need I name one more?

Okay, I still haven't gotten to my point, which is to say that sometimes a GOOD READ just speaks for itself. So instead of the usual song and dance, I will show you the cover to Megan Crane's novel and if you click on the link that follows it, you will be taken to her website and can read the first chapter for yourself. It just made me want to read more. YAY! The woman has a Ph.d. in literature and she's put it to great effect in Everyone Else's Girl, at least as far as the first chapter goes. I've already ordered the rest of those pesky pages in book form and am just waiting for the mail to get here. So, without further ado.

Now, click on this link, which should take you to her website, scroll down and start the first chapter yourself. See if you don't agree that this woman makes you want to get into your p.j.s and under the covers.

Ok, consider me gobsmacked. Hank Phillippi Ryan is scaring me. And I've not even started reading her Agatha-award winning mysteries, which have gotten RAVE reviews from Robert Parker and Sue Grafton. Four books in the time it took me to learn how to post a blog. AND..this is the scary part...she is a full-time TV newscaster in Boston with tons o' Emmys to her name! What is she taking? May I have some? Please?

She's also on the board of a jillion important writer's associations and for a laugh, go to her website and look at her events. Seriously, I think her next book should be about a writer/investigative reporter who's cloned herself and no one knows it.

“Sassy, fast-paced and appealing. First-class entertainment.”

**Sue Grafton

“I love this series!”

**Suzanne Brockmann

Hank Phillippi Ryan knows the television business entirely, she understands plotting and she writes beautifully. No wonder I loved Drive Time. Anyone would.”

**Robert B. Parkerauthor of Spenser for Hire

Now, after already winning an Agatha for her first novel, she's nominated for another for her latest, and for a short story she's written as well.

Here's our interview:

Growing up, did you ever think you’d be an investigative reporter?

Definitely—not. You know, I have a funny juxtaposition of desire to be in the spotlight—and sheer terror of being in the spotlight. I love my job in TV—and have to go live and unrehearsed al the time. Confession: I’m still terrified every time. I want to be perfect, and when you’re on live, you can’t possibly be. That’s one reason why I love investigative reporting—there’s more time to work, and dig, and polish, and produce, It’s like making a little movie, and I can make it as perfect as possible.

How did the character of Charlotte ‘Charlie’ McNally come about?

What a great question. I have NO idea. She was born when I got a weird spam in my email. It was what looked like lines from a play by Shakespeare. I thought--why would someone send a spam like that? And it crossed my mind--maybe it's a secret message.

I still get goose bumps telling you about it. And I knew, after all those years of wanting to write a mystery, that was my plot. And that turned out to be the Agatha-winning PRIME TIME. But Charlie? Well, I knew I had a good story, but who would tell it? A television reporter, of course. And she just instantly popped into my head. Named, fully formed. I knew her perfectly.

The other characters were more difficult to get to know. But now, Charlie surprises me a lot! And I love when that happens.

5. Is she anything like you? Has she ever done anything you wouldn’t do to get your story?

When my husband talks about Charlie, he calls her “you.” As in—when “you” are held at gunpoint, when you track down the bad guys, when you solve the mystery… and I have to remind him, “Sweetheart, it’s fiction. It didn’t really happen.”

But a couple of things: I’ve been a TV reporter for more than 30 years. (Yes, really.) And so it would be silly, in writing a mystery about TV, not to use my own experiences. Think about it—as a TV reporter, you can never be wrong! Never be one minute late. Never

Your husband’s a criminal defense attorney. Does he read your work or give you any tips or even ideas for plots?

He’s the most patient man on the planet. Yes, he's really the only person who reads my pages while they’re in process. When I first started writing PRIME TIME, I'd give hi my five pages or so a day, and I'd hear him laughing and I was so delighted! And he would tell me every day how terrific it was. Then, about fifty pages in, I went in for my daily pat on the back. And he had a funny look on his face. "Honey?" he asked. "Is something going to happen soon?" So I knew I had some work to do.

AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WANT A FREE COPY OF YOUR CHOICE OF HANK'S FOUR BOOKS:

Sign up in the join my typepad list box in the upper left. (if that doesn't work, send me an email to SheilaCurran@comcast.net. Two winners will be randomly selected and Hank will send you a signed copy. What a deal!

Come on now, admit it. This one just makes you want to read it and you've not even read the premise of this new book by the author of best-selling books SEE JANE DATE and LOVE YOU TO DEATH. The Joy referred to here is a sister the protagonist never knew she had, the product of her father's affair, a secret he's kept until his deathbed, when he finally asks his daughter Rebecca to go track down her half-sister in a small town in Maine.

Praise:

"The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate opened my heart, made me laugh, cry, and smile all at the same time. A don't-miss read!" –New York Times bestselling authorCarly Phillips

"The Secret of Joy is a warm hug of a book. Insightful, wise, and romantic, it's as inviting as the small-town life it depicts."–Claire LaZebnik

"A wonderfully heartfelt story about hope, possibilities and the yearning for real connections. Senate's latest will take you on a much needed vacation, while sneaking vital life lessons in when you're not looking."–Caprice Crane

.Here's my interview with Melissa whose newest book THE SECRET OF JOY you can order at Amazon.

1.If I had to offer two bumper sticker explanations for my novel, they’d be “Appearances are deceiving” and “Mean people suck.”Tell me what your slogans would be, and why:

A: “Live and let live” and “Be Kind.” Two more self-explanatory slogans there never were!

2.Your two favorite movies over the past twelve months and why?

I loved “Julie & Julia” because of the acting and the cooking and because it showed such loving, supportive marriages with great men, great husbands. Seriously, it almost made this cynical divorcee want to get married again. The other ten movies I’ve seen this year were for seven-year-olds. I’ve seen everything from “Up “to “Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs” to “Coraline.” I take my son to every kid movie on opening day, a tradition in our little house of two.

2.What was the one thing you learned in getting your book published that you were really surprised to find out?

A: That you need alligator skin. Seriously.

4.If you had to pick one and only one condition (beyond computer or pen and paper) that would allow you to write would it be: a. solitudeb. caffienec.sleepd. foode.sexor f.______.

A: Solitude, hands down.

Do you have a favorite genre?If so, who are your three favorite writers? If not, who are your three favorite writers and how have they influenced your work?

A: My three favorite authors are Anne Tyler, Elinor Lipman, and Maeve Binchy. I’m also getting enamored with Elizabeth Berg. I love, love, love, all the contemporary women’s fiction being published these days. All these interesting, thoughtful novels about the female experience. The covers are irresistible to me.

How perfect is it that I get to steal another writer's interview for a book that's all about stealing someone else's creative design? Before I post the interview (generously donated by Judy Merrill Larsen) writer of the fabulous ALL THE NUMBERS, let's talk about Hank Phillipi Ryan. Like so many of my cyber circuit girlfriends, her accomplishments are intimidating. Like, man, they scare me. Emmy winning TV reporter in Boston, has already written three mysteries in her spare time, and looks like she spends most of her time getting spa treatments and Hollywood stylings. Not to objectify her but here's a picture because I don't think you can 'get' her dynamism without looking at her.

Not only is she gorgeous, she's smart and witty and won an Agatha Award for a first novel, the opening to this mystery series set in TV land. None other than the dean of mystery writers, the don of Boston suspense novelists, Robert Parker said of her

She's also been a BookSense pick and is the September featured mystery on Barnes and Noble website. And what does she do with this opportunity for domination and cyber-fame? Just the opposite of what you'd expect. She offers her fellow writers a chance to promote their books. (I'll be up later in the month.) This is one classy woman. I don't know yet if she knew Ted Kennedy but in a week where the man's generosity is celebrated it's hard not to think there's something in that Boston water that promotes what Obama called a 'large-heartedness."

In that spirit, here are the covers of all her books, which, I believe, you must order in succession to appreciate.

Imagine the research I had to do into the world of designer purses! It was tough, but someone had to dive in…

Actually, Charlie’s investigation into the world of counterfeit couture came s straight from been there-done that. In my day job as a TV reporter, my producer (not Franklin!) and I have done several in-depth investigations into the world of knock-offs—not only purses and scarves, but blue jeans and watches and DVDs and videos.

We went undercover and with a hidden camera—like Charlie does—into various back-alley stores where counterfeit merchandise was being sold, and also into some suburban purse parties where women—certainly knowing they were fake and thinking was fine—were scooping up piles of counterfeit Burberrys and Chanels.

You should know— law enforcement tells us, it’s not illegal to buy the purses—unless you’re buying large amounts that are obviously for resale. The illegality is in the copying and manufacture and sale of what’s clearly a trademarked and proprietary item. (As the elegant fashion exec Zuzu Mazny-Latos tells Charlie in AIR TIME—it’s like taking Gone with the Wind—and putting your name on the cover.)

Anyway—lots of AIR TIME is based on research and reality—besides the undercover work, and the research, I’ve done many interviews with the federal agencies in charge of battling counterfeiting, the attorneys who help big companies protest their products, and even the private investigators the designers hire to scout out counterfeits.

2.)Are you more driven by plot or by character?

Ah, it's both. I start with one little germ of a plot twist--and then figure out how Charlie is going to figure it out! So I know what I know--and she knows what she knows. And then she has to solve the mystery--based on what I let her know.

3.) Who's your favorite character in this book and why?

Oh, I can't possibly answer that. Charlie McNally is dear to my heart of course. When my husband talks about Charlie, he calls her “you.” As in: when “you” get chased by the bad guys, or when “you” get held at gunpoint. And I have to remind him, “Sweetheart, it’s fiction.” But Charlie can say things I can’t say about the reality of television, and because she’s fictional, she can go places I can’t go. And say things I can’t say!

And the very sweet 8-year-old Penny, I must say, touches me every time I write about her And I get so many letters from readers, concerned about her, and asking about her, and who I based her on. But really? She’s right out of my imagination. (She’s the character who sometimes makes readers cry...along with Charlie’s mother. I guess family relationships are sometimes—universal.)

And in AIR TIME there’s a new character . a gorgeous FBI agent named Keresey Stone. She’s amazing. And unpredictable. But I wonder what you’ll think about her?

3.) What's your writing process/writing environment like?

I’ve been a television reporter since 19, um, 75. I’m still on the air at Boston’s NBC affiliate, and still at work as an investigative reporter. (And I’m always hoping my best story ever is just around the corner.) So I come to work at Channel 7 every morning—tracking down clues, doing research, hoping for justice and looking for a great story that will change people’s lives. (Hmm..sounds a lot like mystery writing!)

Then at night we go back home—and when I’m in writing mode, I write til about ten pm, in a wonderful study that’s lined with bookshelves. I admit—I have a cluttered desk, and no real filing system, except for “piles.” But I know where everything is. I like it to be quiet.. At the TV station, it’s chaotic and loud, with three TV’s blasting all the time—and I can work fine there! But at home, with the books—quiet.

Because my schedule is so tight, I keep track of my words. If I know I have to write 90,000 words by the deadline, I literally divide that number by the number of days I have—and then set that as a goal. I try to write maybe—two pages a day. And on weekends, more. If I can do that, I’m thrilled.

I push my way through a first draft. I say to myself—just get the story down. Just do it. And you can fix it later.

Then I cook dinner, and my husband and I have a very late dinner together! You can imagine how patient he is!

I used to be a pretty good cook, and diligent about exercise. My husband and I gave dinner parties and went to movies and went on vacation. Sigh. That’s all pretty much over. I have a full time job as reporter, a full time job as a mystery author, and a full time job as a wife (with two step-children and two step-grandchildren!) That doesn’t leave much time for much else.

4.) What's your favorite part of writing?

Revision, no question. I love that. You have this whole first draft, and you get to go back and see what you really have. I often have wonderful revelations when I read over the first draft—there are themes and rhythms and even clues that I didn’t realize were there! It’s always so rewarding.

And after 30 years in TV, I know how valuable editing is—so I look at it as a real treat. To get to polish, and tweak, and rearrange, and make it all shine—oh, it’s great fun.

The other favorite part—when readers love the books. I can’t tell you how often I’m out on a story, for instance, and a stranger will come up to me , and pull the book out of a purse or briefcase, and ask me to sign it. I can barely resist bursting into tears. It somehow completes the writing, you know? when someone reads it.

5.) What's the best piece of advice you've ever gotten about writing?

There’s a plaque on my bulletin board with the question: “What would you attempt to do if you know you could not fail?” That gives me a lot of courage.

Hank’s giving away five ARC’s of PRIME TIME to readers…to enter the drawing contact her through her website and put ‘PRIME TIME ARC’ in the subject line!

“Here’s a talent: when a narrator’s doldrums make a reader laugh out loud. Samantha Wilde’s inkwell must be filled with truth-serum because this brave and funny book gets the postpartum peaks and valleys so very, winningly right.”

—Elinor Lipman, author of Then She Found Me

“Think of the funniest person you know, give her a baby and a month without sleep, multiply by ten and you've got the incomparable Samantha Wilde rocking the hilariously appalling realities of motherhood and the modern marriage. This book belongs on the bedside table of everyone who's ever been a mother, or had one.”

—Karen Karbo, author of The Stuff of Lifeand How to Hepburn

“[This] is the funniest novel I've read in a long, long time. What a treat! Mothers everywhere deserve this book.”

—Ellen Meister, author of The Smart One

“Samantha Wilde is the irreverent, knowing, laugh-out-loud, brutally honest but most treasured best friend that every new mommy craves and every reader relishes. They should issue this smart, hilarious novel along with newborn onesies and nursing pads.”—Pamela Redmond Satran, author of Babes in Captivity

“Riotously hilarious, unabashedly honest and positively impossible to put down. Samantha Wilde’s debut is a must read for all moms and non-moms alike.”

—Jessica Brody, author of The Fidelity Files

From what I've read, this sounds like a great present to send an exhausted new mom, or even better, someone like me who gets to sleep through the night but wished there were a book like this when I was falling apart.

Here's our interview with Sam Wilde about her debut book:

.IIf I had to offer two bumper sticker explanations for my novel, they’d be “Appearances are deceiving” and “Mean people suck.” Tell me what your slogans would be, and why.

C Caution: Exhausted Mother at the WheelMothers are people too

2.Your two favorite movies over the past twelve months and why? Movies? Do they still exist? Do people still go to them? I think I’ve seen a few I hated. But the popcorn was good.

3.What was the one thing you learned in getting your book published that you were really surprised to find out? You never get to the top of the mountain. Getting published is not a lighting bolt. Life does not change in any substantive way. You never arrive at the place you long to be from outward things. The inward changes are cool, though. I feel like, impossibly, I am learning to be more gracious.

4. If you had to pick one and only one condition (beyond computer or pen and paper) that would allow you to write would it be: a. solitude b. caffiene c. sleep d. food e. sex or f. ______. Sleep. Yes, sleep.

5. Do you have a favorite genre? If so, who are your three favorite writers? If not, who are your three favorite writers and how have they influenced your work? I am a cross-genre reader. I don’t have three favorite writers—that’s too few! I adore Anne Lammott as well as Alice Hoffman, Cynthia Kaplan, Jen Lancaster, Caitlin Flanagan, Oscar Wilde, among many, many others, and in no particular order.

Anne Lamott has a great line about craziness, about how you might think you're crazy now, but if you're an author, you won't know insane until it's your publication day. Well, since this is my second book, I thought I'd surpassed all that. I decided to do a quiet signing at the cute local bookstore in Holden Beach, North Carolina, which is where my family vacations each June.

I'm shy. People who know me don't believe that, but when it comes to talking to strangers, I get really nervous. Nevertheless I screwed up my courage, put on a dress, make-up, jewelry and strappy sandals and toddled over to the store bearing cookies and sweet tea. Walked in, and the proprietor told me the books hadn't come in. She apologized, and I nearly fainted with relief. With this personality I'll never make a best seller list!

Anyway, in lieu of face-time and hand-selling, here's some advance praise for EVERYONE SHE LOVED

“EVERYONE SHE LOVED is peopled with women of strong appetites---for love, for sex, for food---and Sheila Curran has amazing insight into the love-hate relationship that women have with each other and their own bodies. Curran is a beautiful writer, both witty and evocative, and she knows how to keep a reader riveted. I was up way past my bedtime, unable to stop turning pages. I had to know what happened to this family and their tight-bound troupe of friends as they meddled and muddled toward hope and new beginnings in the wake devastating loss. I fell in love with them all, from artistic, earthy Lucy, to broken little Tessa, to the oh-so-tightly-wound and mercurial Clover. Read this book, then pass it on to your dearest friend. She’ll thank you.”Joshilyn Jackson, Gods in Alabama, Between, Georgia, The Girl Who Stoppped Swimming

"Sheila Curran writes the novels that readers love -- full of emotional complexity and rich plot twists, novels that echo our own deep desires and greatest fears. In her second novel, she takes on themes that touch us all -- love, loss, motherhood, wifehood, and the sisterhood of friendship. It isn't so much that Curran has found her greatest muse in the unbreakable bonds between women, but that the unbreakable bonds between women have have found their greatest writer in Sheila Curran." -- Julianna Baggott, best selling author of numerous books includingTHE PRETEND WIFE, MY HUSBANDS SWEETHEARTS, THE PRINCE OF FENWAY PARK

“Penelope Cameron May’s unusual last request sets off the action in this riveting novel of love and friendship, betrayal and lies. Sheila Curran draws the reader in and this inventive book won’t let go. Prepare to be surprised and moved. I read it in one delicious gulp.”Masha Hamilton, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, THE CAMEL BOOKMOBILE

Whoever thought death could be so complicated? Or that love could demand a task force?Or that after so many broken hearts, one woman's will could leave a legacy of such healing? Penelope Cameron, even in death, makes the lives of everyone around her richer-and that includes us, the readers of this brilliant novel. We hold our breath as minor flaws become monsters, but in the end this group of friends and lovers really do take care of each other. Everyone She Loved is for everyone who knows that love works, even when it's complicated, for everyone who screws up, and can still do the right thing after all, and for everyone who enjoys a great novel, with friendship and forgiveness at its heart.

Paul Shepherd, Mary McCarthy prize-winning author of More Like Not Running Away

'Everyone She Loved' was the voice inside my head - at a time when I first contemplated my own mortality ... this could have been my husband, my girlfriends and my children ... it raises every emotion and suppressed fear within us all, with a clarity that is both deeply uncomfortable and yet stridently beautifulJulz Graham, television host, DIMENSIONS

There truly is no excuse for how long it's taken me to blog about April Henry's new book. She's a fairly recent member of the girlfriends' cyber circuit and shortly after her book came out she made the New York Times' bestseller list. That is so exciting!

How hard is it to throw up a few sentences, post cover art and mention her rave reviews? Her work is so good it practically speaks for itself. I have no real excuse. And yet, somehow, I feel a little like Rip Van Winkle. Can it really be that after six weeks of telling myself to hurry up and get my blog updated I'm finally waking up and smelling the coffee?

Yikes. Especially nervy of me when April Henry's own biography states in no uncertain terms that she "knows how to kill you in a two-dozen different ways. She makes up for a peaceful childhood in an intact home by killing off fictional characters...by the time she was in her 30s, April had come to terms with her childhood and started writing about hit men, drug dealers, and serial killers."

Mercy, please Ms. Henry, please! I have cancer! I had cancer? I think it's past tense but for the sake of forgiveness I will say that I recently had cancer (January) and what they did to cure me (February through April) came very very close to killing me.

Exihibt A, I've not had a martini in five months.

Exhibit B I am no longer a food evangelist because I cannot eat. In fact, I am still drinking smoothies (only) and sleeping twelve hours a day and wearing this really creepy plastic patch on my stomach that says Fentenyl 100 mcg/h.

Worst of all, I miss all my former pleasures so viscerally that my new-and-improved body (25 pounds lighter than my 'set point') gives me no pleasure at all. It's the first time in my life I can wear a bikini and still, if I could snap my fingers and make this all unhappen, I'd gladly go back to being fifteen pounds overweight and complaining about how little willpower I have.

So, without further ado, I promise those of you who are wondering, that the doctors say I am cured and April, I promise that I will not only order Face of Betrayal but also Torched. I love mysteries and am headed to the beach for two weeks in June.

Here's the skinny on April Henry and her writing.

Publishers Weekly“A sizzling political thriller. … The seamless plot offers a plethora of twists and turns.”

Romantic Times:4.5 stars [and they don’t give out five stars] “Wiehl and Henry have penned a winner that seems to come straight from the headlines. Captivating suspense, coupled with tightly written prose, will entertain and intrigue."

Ingram:"Readers are in for a treat as trial lawyer/commentator Lis Wiehl and mystery author April Henry team up for a political thriller."

The critics say April is “a talent to watch” (Toronto Globe and Mail), “spoiling us” (Washington Times) and “a rising mystery writer” (Seattle Post-Intelligencer). Her novels have been called “splendid” (Denver Post), “witty and fun” (Dallas Morning News) “fast paced and harrowing” (BookPage), “cracker-jack” (Drood Review), “a galloping-fast read” (The Oregonian) and “off-beat and vital” (Publisher’s Weekly). They have been short-listed for the Agatha Award, the Anthony Award, and the Oregon Book Award. Two have been chosen for BookSense by the independent booksellers of America.

PLOT SUMMARY:

When 17-year-old Senate page Katie Converse goes missing on her Christmas break near her parents' white Victorian home in Portland, Ore., law enforcement and the media go into overdrive in a search for clues. Three friends at the pinnacle of their respective careers--Allison Pierce, a federal prosecutor; Cassidy Shaw, a crime reporter; and Nicole Hedges, an FBI special agent--soon discover that Katie wasn't the picture of innocence painted by her parents. Did Katie run away to escape their stifling demands? Was she having an affair with the senator who sponsored her as a page? Has she been kidnapped? Is she the victim of a serial killer?

Here's our interview: And hey, doesn't this writer seem like a great treasure trove, especially if you're the mother of a young teen? I'll get Torched for my daughter and Face of Bertrayal for me.

If I had to offer two bumper sticker explanations for my novel, they'd be "Appearances are deceiving" and "Mean people suck." Tell me what your slogans would be, and why.Absolute power corrupts absolutely.And can I modify yours? Appearances can be deceiving.

Your two favorite movies over the past twelve months and why?The Wrestler and Gran Torino. I liked them both because they surprised me.

What was the one thing you learned in getting your book published that you were really surprised to find out?With my first book, I was surprised to learn that most hardcovers were given a window of 8 to 10 weeks to succeed by the publisher. (Young adult publishers area little more forgiving than that.) I remember telling my publicist, “I’ve got yogurt in my fridge that is going to last longer than that!”

4. If you had to pick one and only one condition (beyond computer or pen and paper) that would allow you to write would it be: a. solitude b. caffiene c. sleep d. food e. sex or f. ______.I hate to say it, but coffee is probably more important than sleep.

5. Do you have a favorite genre? If so, who are your three favorite writers? If not, who are your three favorite writers and how have they influenced your work?I like mysteries and YA. Recently, some of my favorites have been the dead and the gone, The Hunger Games, and The Intruders.

p.s. IS IT JUST ME or didn't a western senator lose his page rather suspiciously years ago, when Clinton was president?